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CT-PEN is a group of professionals dedicated to helping Connecticut's children and families by promoting excellence in parenting education.

CT-PEN brings together and supports parenting educators of diverse backgrounds, educations, and affiliations. It is working to promote a coordinated system of parenting education that recognizes the central role of parents in child development and school readiness. This system will be results-based, accountable, and accessible to all caregivers. It has two essential purposes: (1) to strengthen and educate parents (or other caregivers) so that they can rear caring, competent, and healthy children and (2) to prevent the neglect and maltreatment of children.

Our Vision: All parents/families will have the information, resources and support necessary to provide nurturing relationships and optimal environments for children's healthy growth and development.

Our Mission: CT-PEN is committed to advancing the field of parenting education through leadership, professional development, networking and information sharing.

CT-PEN goals

Link parenting educators and programs across the state

Expand knowledge of best practices in parenting education

Increase access to culturally appropriate parenting programs

Increase access to research in parenting education

Support professional development

Developing leadership in the field of parenting education

improve the visibility of parenting education in Connecticut

Immediate tasks

Long-term tasks

To provide professional training in evidence based curricula to parent educators

To identify current training opporunities

To encourage rigorous evaluation

As an integral part of parenting education programs

To identify effective tools and resources to assess parent needs

To identify methods of matching parent needs with curricula and approaches

To have the parenting educator credential recognized by the state legislature and endorsed by key funders.

The Connecticut Parenting Education Network (CT-PEN) has adopted the goals of the National Extension Parenting Education Framework (NEPEF) to advance the field of parenting education and to increase access to high quality programs in Connecticut.

In 1992, family life and human development specialists initiated a nationwide effort to develop a framework of what to teach parents in parent education programs. In 1994, the resulting model called the National Extension Parent Education Model (NEPEM) set forth six categories of priority parenting practices to be learned by parents and taught by parenting educators.

In 2000, this work expanded to address the need for outlining the critical skills and practices of parenting educators. Professionals proposed that the NEPEM's "priority practices for parenting educators" be melded with a set of "priority processes for parenting educators" to form a new structure, the National Extension Parenting Education Framework (NEPEF).

Since 2002, NEPEF has two dimensions, each containing six domains of competency. One dimension outlines the content of knowledge needed by parenting educators while the other dimension outlines the processes that parenting educators need to work effectively with parents and children.